Combination deer-carcass sled and chaise lounge

ABSTRACT

A deer-carcass sled is provided that folds and may conveniently be strapped to a hunter&#39;&#39;s back. It has ground-contacting members that comprise runners and/or tires, and are preferably capable of being turned into an inoperative position to afford a compact structure. The structure further comprises a back member that attaches to the sled or dolly to convert it into a chaise lounge.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Eugene E. Schrecengost RD. 1, Box 65, Apollo, Pa. 15613 [21] Appl. No. 793,469 [22] Filed Jan. 23, 1969 [45] Patented May 25, I971 [54] COMBINATION DEER-CARCASS SLED AND CHAISE LOUNGE 5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 280/8, 280/20, 280/36, 296/20 [51] Int. Cl B62b 13/16, B62b 13/18 [50] Field ofSearch 280/7.12, 7.14, 8, 1 1.37 (A), 1 1.37 (EF), 12 (F), 20, 36,12; 296/20 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,711,017 4/1929 Elfreth 280/20 2,314,293 3/1943 Tyndall ..280/l 1.37(EF) 2,629,608 2/1953 Jones 280/36 FOREIGN PATENTS 621,153 1/1927 France 280/36 1,187,857 11/1964 Germany 296/20 182,831 5/1936 Switzerland 280/20 Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Milton L. Smith Attorney-Murray 8L Linkhauer PATENTED M2519?! SHEET 1 2 3580.592

INVENTOR. EUGENE E. SCHRECENGOST BY f I ATTORNEYS COMBINATION DEER-CARCASS SLED AND CIIAISE LOUNGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to land vehicles, and in particular, to ones of the runner or wheeled-and-runner type. More particularly, the invention concerns a device for conveying a deer carcass that is convertible to a chaise lounge.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various kinds of runner-contacting land vehicles are known, these being commonly referred to as sleds. It may be taken as admitted that it is not unknown to persons skilled in the art of hunting deer or similar game animals to use a sled to facilitate the transport of killed game to a camp or automobile or other desired location. For the most part, however, this is not done because most sleds hitherto readily available are of rather heavy construction and are not amenable to being folded for carrying on ones back. This has meant that a sled has been used only when the killed game animal is especially heavy or is otherwise difficult to transport, since it has hitherto ordinarily been necessary for a hunter to make a special trip to the automobile or camp to obtain a sled, rather than carrying one with him as a matter of course.

There is, moreover, the problem with sleds in general, and with sleds designed for a special purpose in particular, that they tend to find use in the United States or other lands of temperate climate only during a relatively small fraction of a year. This further militates against the use of a sled-type vehicle whenever circumstances would otherwise favor such use. Out-of-season, a sled represents either a capital investment from which no return or advantages are being derived, or worse, a positive detriment, in that space and effort are required to place and retain it in storage and remove it therefrom for service.

Although the use of a dolly or similar wheeled vehicle to facilitate the conveying of a heavy object is well known, similar considerations have prevented the use of dollys for moving game-animal carcasses.

Moreover, when an animal is dragged for a considerable distance, particularly when there is no snow on the ground, much effort is required and considerable damage is done to the skin or pelt of the animal.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a device for conveying a gameanimal carcass that has a lightweight, foldable frame. Means are provided for attaching ground-contacting members to the frame; these members may be either runners or wheels. Preferably, the structure is such that the ground-contacting members can be folded inwardly, for the sake of compactness. Attached or attachable to the frame is a harness, enabling it, when folded, to be strapped to a hunters back. The structure of the invention further comprises a back member that can be attached to the frame to form a chaise lounge or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the foregoing and following description thereof, taken together with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a view in perspective of the structure of the present invention in its unfolded condition, prepared for use as a device for conveying a game-animal carcass;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, showing the structure of FIG. 1 with a back member attached to convert the structure of FIG. 1 into a chaise lounge;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, showing the structure of FIG. I in a folded condition;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the structure of FIG. 3, with certain details omitted for simplicity;

FIG. 5 is a detailed perspective view of an alternative form of a frame that may comprise a part of the structure of FIG. 1-,

FIG. 6 is a detailed view, showing the construction of the hinge in the frame of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a further detailed view, showing the wheel mounting on the frame ofFlG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a detail view in front elevation of a portion of the ground-contacting member;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of the member of FIG. 8, with a runner attached;

FIG. I0 is a front elevation view, corresponding to FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the part of FIG. 9, partly broken away to reveal the structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a structure comprising a frame 2 having two parts 4 and 6 that are joined by a pair of hinges 8, each comprising a bolt 9. The frame 2 is made of lightweight material of good strength, such as aluminum, fiberglass, nylon, or other suitable plastic. In the portion 4 there is preferably provided a crosspiece 10, for added strength, near the ends of which there are joined to the frame 2 a pair of suitable ground-contacting means 12, such as the illustrated yokes l4 and their associated runners 16.

To the portion 6, and preferably to a piece 18 projecting inwardly from the end 20 of the portion 6, there is attached a swivel leg 22, better seen in FIG. I I. It also has a runner 24.

On the upper surface of the frame 2, there is provided a plurality of eyebolts 26, through which cord 28 is strung to form a deck upon which the game-animal carcass may be positioned.

The pair of hinges 8 is secured by means of suitable bolts 9.

Near the corner of the frame 2, and preferably on the exterior side edges, there are preferably provided four eyebolts 30. These may be used to secure the ends of the webs (not shown) that run diagonally of the frame 2 and are used to secure the game-animal carcass to the deck formed by the cord 28. Moreover, when the frame 2 is in its folded condition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the eyebolts 30 can be used, together with a length of string or elastic material, to maintain the frame in the folded condition.

In the portion 4, and extending through the sides of the frame 2 near the end 32thereof, there is provided a pair of openings 34, for use in attaching to the frame 2 the back member 36, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the back member 36 comprises portions 38 and 40, joined by a pair of hinges 42. Suitably positioned eyebolts and cord laced through them (not shown) complete the working surface of the back 36.

A pair of base pieces 44 are joined to the portion 40 by bolts 46. Integral with the base pieces 44 also contain openings 48 that can be brought into alignment with the openings 34 in the frame 2, so that by passing bolts therethrough, the back 36 may be joined to the frame 2.

To adjust the angle of the back 36 with respect to the frame 2, a pair of racks 52 having notches 54 therein are joined to the portion 40, and a U-shaped member 56, with the ends of its legs secured in the base piece 44, is caused to rest in one of the pairs of notches 54.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown the frame 2 in its folded position. In this view, it can be seen that, in the folded condition, the swivel leg 22 takes a position such that its body lies generally in alignment with the piece 18, rather than projecting downwardly therefrom as it does in the working position shown in FIG. 1. It will be understood that in passing from the operative position shown in FIG. 1 to the folded condition shown in FIG. 3, the deer-carcass sled of the invention is manipulated in a manner presently to be indicated. The swivel leg 22 is swung toward the front (left in FIG. I) of the sled and is at the same time turned to bring the runner 24 to a position running transversely 'of the sled. Also, the securement bolts that pass through the openings 94, I02 and 96 are removed, so that the ground-contacting members 12 may be swung outwardly and upwardly from the position indicated in' FIG. 1, coming to rest on the top of the deck formed by the cords 28. It is to be understood that the cords 28 are preferably somewhat loosely threaded through the eyebolts'or the like 26, so that the deck may, to the extent necessary, move to accommodate the ground-contacting members 12. The portion 6 is then folded in a suitable manner (downwardly in FIG. 1) against the portion 4. This brings the sled into the folded condition shown in FIG. 3.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, means are preferably provided for securing the portions 4 and 6 together. As there shown, this may comprise a thong 62 secured by suitable means (not shown) to the portion 6 and having therein a snap-fasteners head 64 that cooperates in known manner with a snap (not shown) located on the portion 4. Of course, other suitable means can be used, such as elastic interconnecting the eyebolts 30 shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown a detailed perspective view of an alternative form of frame, adapted to comprise a part of the structure shown in FIG. 1. The frame 2 of FIG. is, in general, similar in its construction to the frame 2, so that in describing it, similar parts will be indicated with the same reference numerals and unnecessary description will be eliminated. In this embodiment, it will be seen that the bracket 34, permitting attachment of a back member to convert the sled to a chaise lounge, is omitted. The lugs 66 at the ends of the crosspiece 10, to permit attachment of the ground-contacting means 12, are the same as in FIG. 1 and are more particularly described hereinbelow in connection with FIG. 7. In this embodiment, an additional crosspiece 68 is provided, to support the forward end of piece 18.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown a hinge 8 with the bolt 9 having been removed, so that the hinge 8 is in disassembled condition, revealing its structure. Associated with the portion 4, the hinge comprises a cylindrical portion 70 located centrally with respect to the width thereof and having a central bore 72 passing therethrough that has its center approximately in alignment with the bottom surface 74 of the portion 4. The cylindrical portion 70 is of such size as to leave above it in the portion 4a generally flat vertical portion 76. In the portion 6, there is integrally formed a pair of lugs 78 and 80 of the same diameter as the cylindrical portion 70 and having therein central bores 82 and 84 that may be brought into alignment with the bore 72, so as to permit the passage of bolt 9 therethrough. Above the lugs 78 and 80, there is similarly a flat vertical portion 86 that, when the sled is erected, comes into contact with the surface 76. It will be seen that the hinge 8 is of such construction that when the sled is erected, the coming together of the surfaces 76 and 86 will serve to lock the pieces 4 and 6 against bowing downward under the weight of the game animal after it is placed on the sled. If desired, the surfaces 76 and 86 may be made so as to be of greater extent, either byproviding built-up portions on the pieces 4 and 6 in the vicinity of the hinge 8 and/or a two-piece cross piece running transversely of the sled at that location.

Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown a portion of the piece 4, indicating the mounting of a ground-contacting member thereto, and in particular, a member in the nature of a wheel, rather than a sled runner. As there shown, there is provided, integral with the member 4 and extending exteriorly and sideways thereof, a pair of projections or lugs 86, 88 that has, extending therethrough, a first or upper pair of openings 90, 92 and a second or lower pair of openings 94, 96. The ground-contacting member, which, as shown in FIG. 7, is in the form of a wheel, and the mounting therefor comprises an upwardly extending lug 98 having therein a pair of openings 100, 102 that are adapted to register with the openings 90, 92 and 94, 96, respectively. Integral with the lug 98 is a main portion of the ground-contacting wheel-type member 104, which comprises a pair of yoke arms 106 that provide a journal for a shaft 108, upon which there is supported a wheel or tire 110. Although, as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, a tire of any suitable size may be used, depending upon the dimension selected for the member 104, satisfactory results are obtained with a tire 4 inches in width and about 2.5 to 2.8 inches in diameter.

Further details of the member 104 are shown in FIG. 8. As can be seen there, the yoke arms 106 are so positioned, preferably, as to support the wheel or runner at a position outboard of the body of the sled, the portion 110 being designed to come downwardly at a slight angle with respect to the vertical for that purpose. This is essential, so that when the openings 100 are used, together with the openings 90, 92, as a center of rotation, about which the member 104 is swung in bringing it to the top of the sled, as described above in connection with the operation of folding up the apparatus of FIG. 1 to place it into the condition shown in FIG. 3, problems of space hindrance are not encountered. It is also to be seen, from FIG. 8, that the axle 108 is made in two parts, comprising a main portion 112 consisting of a head 114 and shaft 116, and a second part 118 that cooperates with the shaft 116 in a manner hereinafter explained. Preferably, a spring 120 is provided between the head 114 and its associated yoke arm 106, and to prevent corrosion of the spring 120, a rubber cap 122 is provided therearound. It is to be understood that the piece 118 cooperates with the left-hand end of the shaft 116 in a known manner (not shown) so as to provide a suitable joint, in the general nature of a bayonet joint. In other words, the piece 118 has protruding lugs that extend into appropriately sized and shaped slots in the left-hand end of the shaft 116, with the slots being J-shaped or L-shaped, and with the spring 120 serving to secure the axle 108 in position when the sled is in use. In order to change from the use of a wheel to a runner, then, it is necessary only to press the head 114 inwardly, i.e., to the left in FIG. 8, so as to make it possible to remove the piece 118 from the above-mentioned slots in the piece 116, thereby freeing the axle 108 for removal from the yoke arms 106 to permit the replacement ofa wheel by a runner, or vice versa.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is shown a ground-contacting member 104 having thereon, in place of the wheel 106 mentioned above, a sled runner 124. As indicated above, this is journaled about an axle 108, andas can be seen in FIG. 9, the member 104, in addition to its extending outwardly from the sides of the sled, is also so shaped as to extend forwardly of the sled, to provide added strength.

In FIG. 10, an additional elevation of the ground-contacting member 104 is seen, showing the attachment of the runner 124 thereto.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there are shown the back legs, or swivel legs, of the sled and its mounting. As can be readily understood, the member 18 has therein a suitable opening 126 extending through and transversely thereof, in which there is received an axle 128. Although this is not shown in the drawings, the axle 128 is preferably similar in construction to the axle 108 of the member'104; that is, it has at one end a spring-loaded head (not shown) and at its other end a bayonet-type joint with a holding piece. A pair of rods 130 extend upwardly, running along either side of the member 18, and the members 130 also contain openings that register with the above-mentioned opening 126 in piece 18. The lugs 130 on either side of the piece 18, being held together as indicated above, are also so shaped as to have an interior opening 132 of suitable shape, for a purpose presently to be described. Cooperating with the lugs 130 in the upper portion 134 of a piece 136 that comprises the runner 24 and the shaft 138, which it is free to move about. The topmost end of the part 134 of the swivel leg 136 is of such shape as to fit snugly within the above-mentioned opening 132, so that it is possible not only to swing the swivel leg 136 upwardly and to the left, as shown in FIG. 11, revolving about the axle 128, but also, at the same time, about a second axis running through the center of the portion 134 of the member 136. This makes it possible, as described above, to swing the ground-contacting member containing the runner 24 both forwardly of the sled and, at the same time, turn it 90, so that the runner 24 runs transversely of the sled in the folded position, as explained above.

The invention is preferably used with certain additional parts that have not been shown or otherwise described, in the interest of brevity and clarity. These include, preferably, a pair of webs extending from one of the eyebolts 30 to a corresponding one diagonally thereof on the sled. These webs (not shown) are preferably in the nature of belting, being preferably of adjustable length and serving to secure to the sled a game animal placed thereon.

It is also to be understood that it is preferable, in most in stances, to provide a harness or the like that contains suitable members for grasping the eyebolts 30 or the like, for attaching the sled in the folded condition to the back of a hunter.

While 1 have shown and described herein certain embodiments of my invention, I intend to cover as well any change or modification therein which may be made without departing from its spirit and scope.

I claim:

1. A foldable sled for hauling game animals comprising a two-part frame having a front portion and a back portion, said front and back portions being hingedly joined in such manner that said hinge becomes locked against downward bowing of said frame by the weight of a game animal placed thereon, said sled further comprising webbing for supporting a game animal operatively connected with said frame, and means for attaching at least three ground-contacting members to said frame, said attaching means comprising means on one of said frame portions for securing a swivel leg thereto, hinge means comprising a pair of lugs on the other of said frame portions and outboard of the frame of said sled, each of said lugs having a pair of openings therein, said openings being registrable with openings contained in a lug of an associated one of said ground-contacting members, said ground-contacting members and said lug thereof being of such size and shape as to permit the upper ones of said openings in said lugs of said hinge means to be used as journals of a hinge axle passing therethrough, and a pair of yoke arms at the bottom of each of said ground-contacting members that provide a journal for a second axle.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that a wheel for contacting the ground is mounted on said second axle.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that a ski-type sled runner is mounted on said second axle.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further characterized by lug means mounted on one of said portions of said frame, and back means cooperating therewith to convert said sled into a chaise lounge.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, characterized in that said back means comprises a two-part hinged, generally rectangular frame extending upwardly from the surface of said sled, means located in the vicinity of the bottom of said back for operatively engaging said back with said lugs, said lastnamed means comprising means for grasping an end of said frame portion of said sled. 

1. A foldable sled for hauling game animals comprising a twopart frame having a front portion and a back portion, said front and back portions being hingedly joined in such manner that said hinge becomes locked against downward bowing of said frame by the weight of a game animal placed thereon, said sled further comprising webbing for supporting a game animal operatively connected with said frame, and means for attaching at least three ground-contacting members to said frame, said attaching means comprising means on one of said frame portions for securing a swivel leg thereto, hinge means comprising a pair of lugs on the other of said frame portions and outboard of the frame of said sled, each of said lugs having a pair of openings therein, said openings being registrable with openings contained in a lug of an associated one of said ground-contacting members, said groundcontacting members and said lug thereof being of such size and shape as to permit the upper ones of said openings in said lugs of said hinge means to be used as journals of a hinge axle passing therethrough, and a pair of yoke arms at the bottom of each of said ground-contacting members that provide a journal for a second axle.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that a wheel for contacting the ground is mounted on said second axle.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that a ski-type sled runner is mounted on said second axle.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, further characterized by lug means mounted on one of said portions of said frame, and back means cooperating therewith to convert said sled into a chaise lounge.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, characterized in that said back means comprises a two-part hinged, generally rectangular frame extending upwardly from the surface of said sled, means located in the vicinity of the bottom of said back for operatively engaging said back with said lugs, said last-named means comprising means for grasping an end of said frame portion of said sled. 